pauljm

Hi Raiders....can anyone tell me if they have finished the pontoon yet or at what stage they are at? I havent been down there for a while....Thanks....Paul

Yeah this has come up before.... i have only ever had 1 kingy that had soft flesh and this fish hardly put up a fight.... i was surprised when it got to the boat that it was actually a king.... have u noticed this with your sick fish or have they been the usual arm stretchers that they are? Thanks for the well researched post! Paul

Mate did u ever purchase another sounder and if so what did u go for..... i also have a ds500x and i also have the same problem as you when game fishing.... waiting for my divorce so i can spend some of my own money for a change and have been thinking of the hds units as well... does anyone have one with just the standard transducer and if so can u effectively mark marlin on bait balls or is the 1kw the only way to go? Anymore feedback appreciated.....cheers..Paul

No fin for us either trolling all day.... heaps of stripies and we got dollies in numbers closer in (biggest only 80cm).... there was a boat doing well on the cube at browns in the arvo... they reckon they were getting yft to 50 kg

How good is it to see the yellowfin are in town.....trolled through patches of tuna outside browns today..... didnt get any sizable ones but it was good to turn a reel anyway........ had a marlin have several goes at 2 different lures but couldnt hook it again.....really frustrating cos thats 6 marlin hits for no hookups this season... bring on the fin..... did anyone get a bigger fin trolling? was thinkin i should have stopped and cubed.... yeah i definitely should of thinkin bout it.......

Cant believe no-one has said it:cons.....LEATHERJACKETS........

Congrats on the marlin....we trolled skirts and slimies all day for no hits.... apart from some wierd species of amberjack that we pulled off the traps we didnt see much life at all.... one huge pod of dolphins and that was all we really seen...... trolled from the heads to 5 miles wide of browns and back for zip...... come in on dark to get a $100 fine at roseville ramp......

I agree as long as you are looking out the window of your boat when your a mile out to sea........ personally i find seabreeze are usually on the money and arent over the top on their predictions like bom tend to be... 5 miles outside browns today was like a fish pond.... pretty sure bom was saying 2 metre sea with a half metre on top.....

Hey i was there a couple of weeks ago and they were demolishing the pontoon.... ramp was open 1 or 2 lanes max but nowhere to pull up in the boat etc....alright in a small tinny or something but thats about it.....i imagine it will take them a while to install new pontoon.....if anyone sees when it is fully operational again please post and let us know.....thanks in advance...paul

Went there today to find it more or less shut....the ramp is still operational(1 or maybe 2 lanes) but theres no pontoon which makes it hard to launch larger boats on your own.... with storm clouds looming i pulled the pin and came home...did i miss the signage or did they not advertise the closure? A good waste of 2 hours that was.....

Seabreeze says its dropping off to 12 knots by 6am and improving as the day goes on.... i will poke my head out the front and judge for myself and if its no go ill fish in close for kings.... where did u get 20 to 30 knots from? Yeah i just checked bom is saying 20/25 early and then abating.... i will still do as i said above.... i respect what bom says and does but find they are often way over the top with there predictions.... unless its obviously blowing a gale i like to check for myself and fish in close or inside if i have to.... happy fishing.....

Looking for EXPERIENCED OFFSHORE fishos for tomorrow....thinkin of hitting the fads and then an arvo troll for marlin hopefully.....i ve got the gear so if u know how to use it and are keen for tomorrow send me a pm.....leaving probably early from tunks if weather permits....... cheers paul

Hi.... i am probably taking tomorrow off (monday 22/3/10)... i have a 6m trailer boat and do similar fishing to you although i usually head out from sydney.... im looking for either crew or a ride out tomorrow so send me a text if your keen either way......0412779065...cheers paul

Yeah no-one said anything about giving it up!.... i have an awesome day everytime we go out....love getting out wide so once a few more fish hit the deck it will be even better....

Yeah we are running similar lures up to 12 inch but personally i think its more a case of being in the right place at the right time.... we have had about 5 strikes this season with no hookups.... no strikes or action at all in the past few outings but i think all that rain over late feb. didnt help the situation at all.....i am also happy to share info while on the troll....i might not be out this weekend but if u guys are out sms me on 0412779065 the night before or early morning and we will work out a channel on the vhf..... by the way it is probably stating the obvious but its well worth trying to catch some slimeys/bonito/stripeys and givin them a go on the slow troll as well....none of those 5 fish ever appeared before lunchtime is worth noting as well.... any strikes or sightings we have had this year all seem to happen in the arvo.... makes it hard in a trailer boat like ours.....good luck.....Paul

We trolled all afternoon off sydney in greenish water....all zeros again...... im starting to think we are doing something wrong or is it just that ever since i bought this boat there hasnt been many billfish around? Its getting real damm frustrating!

Mate i went thru this a while back and after reading on this site it was suggested i screw and sikaflex a piece of thick chopping board material in the general area of where u think the transducer should sit. If u have it a foot or more wide this gives you the option of being able to move the transducer without drilling more holes in the transom.Then u can also screw things like speedo pickups and bilge pump brackets to this board without compromising the transom. It probably doesnt look as neat but if ur not worried about that i reckon its the way to go. Also read up on the correct procedure for drilling and filling using epoxy etc.... do it once and do it right or your transom will turn in to soggy cardboard in a few years....good luck

Hey guys thought we would try for a marlin off sydney today......had one behind the boat.....it took a look at what was on the rigger... it played with the one in close and then hit the shotgun but missed the hook.......it took the pakula that caught a striped at port stephens in march.....it wasnt a huge fish but i was absoloutely gutted it didnt hook up.....how come no one else was out today?....we didnt see even one other boat fishinfg offshore today?.....conditions got better as the day went on.....a sunfish, heaps of dolphins and a few flying fish were also around.....had 23 to 23.5 degree water.... wondering if anyone else can confirm this reading as im unsure if new transducer is accurate? We went today expecting nothing due to no reports of sydney marlin yet? Anyone know of any this season yet? Definitely worth a try and will be going again asap...... any other sightings out there????

Yeah i spoke to one of the workers......they are gunna build a pontoon running parralel with the ramp so in effect it sounds like it will be an upside down L shape if u get what i mean........should be good.... just wish they would hurry up!

Does your cat actually eat the fish? My mrs cats wont go near it usually...this is as close as one has gotten... (one of last years kings)

there is an old saying which i hate..."if u need to look at the price tag, u probably cant afford it"... the other one is "the more you earn the more you spend....its all relative".....personally middle of the range is the go....something your not too worried if it gets the odd scratch but will still manage 99.9% of the fish and will last an age as well....something thats not so precious that your afraid to use it! would be nothing worse than spending all that money only to have it stolen or accidently broken on the boat etc.... but then again if ur cashed up why not go top end. my wishlist is endless.

Hey just thought i would ask...is this a stupid question or are they really pilchards? Maybe slimies or something?? Have caught yakkas,slimies,garfish,whitebait in the harbour before..but never pilchards? Good luck on the midweekers......

Our day in short...got yakkas easy in the rain at balmoral,anchored offshore .fishing slow with jackets again stealing baits...a couple of mowies, squire, ljs....spot on the tide change at 850 and for about 5 seconds got a zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz on the yakka on 15kg........lifted rod and no weight came up sinkerless and yakkaless and scratching my head.....thats kings 2 me 1 in recent times. went north for sweep and nannys .no drift again making fishing hard...trolled up a bonnie and went home... a good day on the ocean but fishing again slow....i often wonder as i am guilty of it as well that ppl only post when they do well...did anyone get any kings or anything today?...would be interesting if everyone posted every weekend to compare if most catches are similar...like 1 sunday everyone is on fire and then the next sunday the majority do poorly... i guess iam just looking for excuses for not doing any good lately! interested if kings were caught in or out of harbour today? Anyone fish the peak or 12 mile today? its the ultimate fishing diary really....many anglers entering on the same day......was thinking i should have went wide to 12 mile and jigged as current was non existant.......any thoughts?

got em on skirts b4...purple feathers, xmas trees and light green pakulas have all taken kings near the heads in the past

Whats the policy on spot x's anybody?